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GC tried to rip me off.......I must look like a dumba$$...

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  • GC tried to rip me off.......I must look like a dumba$$...

    Okay here's the deal: I've had my eye on this used RR5 that's been in Guitar Center for a couple of months. It's in great shape, and they're asking $699 for it. (probably a little high, I know) Even though it's an import, I thought it'd make a great companion for my San Dimas Rhoads. So I offered to trade them even for a 1977 Fender Twin Reverb w/JBLs in MINT condition. I know the amp is worth more than that guitar, easily. The dude seemed really interested, and he went back in the back to ask the boss, I guess. He came back all serious and he was like "Well, I'd have to see it first, but we're looking at ballpark $300." I was like "what?" I laughed at him and said "You're crazy man, no thanks." Can you guys believe that crap? I was already willing to trade and take a loss, and these guys wanted me to GIVE the amp to them. To top it off, they had a used Twin Reverb sitting there with a $900 price tag on it. Jerks!
    Dana <~~~

    [ February 12, 2003, 11:20 PM: Message edited by: guitarforceone ]
    '85 Rhoads Custom
    '86 SD Str*t
    '86 Model 4 (5)
    '87 Model 1
    '87 Model 6
    '88 Model 3DR
    '90 650 XL
    '94 KE-3
    '97 DR Amberburst
    '97 Dinky BOFlames
    '05 SD Copperhead

  • #2
    Re: GC tried to rip me off.......I must look like a dumba$$...

    $$$$$$$ in the eyes, Dana. Move on and get one from Matt at OSG. It's so insulting when a store does that kind of crap. What is going on with sincerity and honor? Has the almighty $ got that green?!
    "Got a crazy feeling I don't understand,
    Gotta get away from here.
    Feelin' like I shoulda kept my feet on the ground
    Waitin' for the sun to appear..."

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    • #3
      Re: GC tried to rip me off.......I must look like a dumba$$...

      Man I'm tellin' ya...I thought they'd be more than happy to make that trade. They probably gave somebody next to nothing for that RR5 to begin with, so they'd have really come out ahead by swapping me evenly. Sheesh...a USA Fender tube amp for a MIJ Jackson, and they STILL wanted to get the amp for nothing. Sorry...I'll stop now. [img]graemlins/rant.gif[/img]
      Dana <~~~
      '85 Rhoads Custom
      '86 SD Str*t
      '86 Model 4 (5)
      '87 Model 1
      '87 Model 6
      '88 Model 3DR
      '90 650 XL
      '94 KE-3
      '97 DR Amberburst
      '97 Dinky BOFlames
      '05 SD Copperhead

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: GC tried to rip me off.......I must look like a dumba$$...

        OSG? What store is that? Yeah, trades at retail are like trades at dealerships for your car.. you'll never get what it's worth..it's the almighty profit margin.

        Better off to sell it outright and let the cash to the talkin... to them, it's just another piece of overpriced merchandise they'll have sitting on the floor they'll have to mark down in order to move.. it's why they never will give market value.

        [ February 13, 2003, 12:14 AM: Message edited by: charvelguy ]

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        • #5
          Re: GC tried to rip me off.......I must look like a dumba$$...

          > I went to a well known guitar shop in Memphis once,totally prepared to buy a Soloist,back before all the discount houses got to be big and all there was were USA Jacksons. I saw the one I had looked at the week before,but it was hanging up behind the counter.I asked the counter guy to see it up close. The guy looked at me as if in shock,and asked 'you got 2 grand in your pocket?" I pulled money out of all 4 pockets in my pants and said "no,but I do have 6500,c-ya!" I still have not set foot in there since. I wound up getting a MUCH sweeter deal at Akron Music,getting a Mesa MkIII and the Soloist for less than half that. The shops close to where I live would kill to see someone serious about wanting to buy ANY Jackson,much less order a USA. Tommy D.
          "I'm going to try and work it out so at the end it's a pure guts race......because if it is.....I'm the only one that can win" - Steve Prefontaine

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          • #6
            Re: GC tried to rip me off.......I must look like a dumba$$...

            This is how you deal with them:

            "$300 and the amp? That's sounds really good! Here's my number. I'll be down later with the amp."

            Proceed to write '555-FÚCK-YOU' on a piece of paper. Fold it in half, give it to the man, and run out of the store.

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            • #7
              Re: GC tried to rip me off.......I must look like a dumba$$...

              '555-FÚCK-YOU'

              And we have a winner! [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
              Facebook - Youtube

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              • #8
                Re: GC tried to rip me off.......I must look like a dumba$$...

                OSG is Online Stage Gear. They sponsor this forum and have an ad at the top of this page.

                They do not show RR5s on their web site, but he can get them - I just ordered one from him which is due to show up at my door on Monday.

                Call OSG or email them, and ask for Matt. You will NOT be disappointed with his price on the RR5.

                - Eric
                Good Lord! The rod up that man's butt must have a rod up its butt!

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: GC tried to rip me off.......I must look like a dumba$$...

                  Guitar Center trade-in tactics are ridiculous, but not much different from a lot of other shops, unfortunately. They get away with charging a lot for used gear because they charge so much on the new stuff too. If someone walks in planning to buy a brand new guitar for $500 and then sees a used one for $350, they'll think that the cheaper used guitar is a great bargain...just because it's so much cheaper. In reality, the brand new guitar was marked up to top dollar. The used one probably has something wrong with it, which GC didn't fix and sure isn't going to point out, so you're just buying someone else's problem.

                  My experience with Guitar Center is that they'll give you about half of what they'll be selling your traded gear for. Years ago, I bought a cheap Washburn bass from GC for $300. Later, when I wanted to trade it in towards a Jackson JS1, they gave me $85 for it and then tagged it for $200. Music-Go-Round and some other shops will give you a bit more for trades, or are at least more open to negotiating.

                  Also remember that their sales staff are complete weasels. I'm sure I've posted this story before, but I had my eye on a new USA RR2 that came in at the local GC back in `97 or `98. They had it marked at $899 (case extra), which was way out of my range then. Years went by, and the guitar didn't move, but the lowest they'd come down was to $699...if I would also buy the case for an additional $100. So I decided to pass on it. Two weeks later, I got that guitar for $399 when they had a clearance sale. Other than a very minor chip (not to the wood) on one fin, it was perfect.
                  sigpic

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                  • #10
                    Re: GC tried to rip me off.......I must look like a dumba$$...

                    Ok, now to somewhat defend GC, which kinda hurts to do... [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

                    When I worked music retail, we had guys wanting to trade for gear straight up. Usually we went for 50% of what the value of the gear was - in other words, he was valuing your trade in at $600 most likely - I bet that's what the amp was going to sell for.

                    Would $300 for your amp be a fair trade between you and another individual? HELL NO! But for a business... it's pretty much the way things are done.

                    When someone brought a trade in where I worked, I would tell em straight up that we were NOT going to give them what they wanted for the trade, and their best bet would be to sell the item, then come back with cash.

                    Remember also that if you find a really really really good deal on a piece of gear at a music store, it's likely they paid peanuts for it - you're getting a great deal, but someone else got screwed.

                    Do they offer consignment? We had that - you'd leave your gear to be sold at the music store, and we took 20% of the selling price that the consignee set. Still not the greatest deal in the world, but made things easier on a lot of people.

                    Pete

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                    • #11
                      Re: GC tried to rip me off.......I must look like a dumba$$...

                      In the pre-eBay days, I did a whole bunch of dumb trades that ended up costing me lots of $$$ over the years (trading in valuable stuff for cheapo stuff that seemed appealing at that moment). Even the most reputable dealer is only going to give you about half what item is worth, either in credit or in trade value. That's how they make money and stay in business!! Also, a lot of dealers won't discount the value of the item you are trading to get, whereas if you pay cash they will.

                      Now, with the ability to market nationwide on eBay, I would never trade or sell anything to a retail store unless I was absolutely desperate for cash or my item was in such bad shape that I would take whatever I could get without the hassle of a potentially dissatisfied eBay buyer.

                      One used guitar store here in the Wash. DC area, Atomic Music, has a really cool policy: they will buy back anything they sold you for 70%, which I consider very reasonable if you get a year or two of use out of the item.

                      I can tell, though, that the rise of eBay has affected Atomic Music and others like it--they are heavily stocked with lower-end/beater guitars and very few nice ones compared to just a few years ago. Which makes sense. If I'm trying to get rid of my old Kramer Striker, the difference between selling it to Atomic for $50 and on eBay for $100-150 isn't that great if I'm just trying to get rid of it to clear space and satisfy the wife. But the difference between selling a Les Paul to the store for $600 versus selling it on eBay for $1500 is quite a bit more significant!

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                      • #12
                        Re: GC tried to rip me off.......I must look like a dumba$$...

                        From a former guitar center managers point of veiw: GC policies, all used gear gets looked up by computer find out what cost is automaticly start at half that price if there are blemish's go down from there, MGR will see what he can actually resell the gear for & add 25% on top to cover what is called GP/ or JIP Gross profit, Thus how a good sales person makes commision.Y ou walked into a situation where the guy you were dealing with is already looking foward to the 25% he gets for the sale of your used gear before you have struck a deal I know I did it for GC for 3 years I hope my fellow brothers/ Sisters on this forum will some day forgive me I to was suduced by the dark side of GC thank the gods I finally escaped. LoL [img]graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]

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                        • #13
                          Re: GC tried to rip me off.......I must look like a dumba$$...

                          Originally posted by AlexL:
                          OSG is Online Stage Gear. They sponsor this forum and have an ad at the top of this page.
                          - Eric
                          <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">yeah.. it hit me like 2:00am..oh? Ok so the synapses weren't in prime firing order.

                          The two worst trades I ever did were with Petes Guitar in MPLS. Inazone may recall Petes. Gotta be weary of retail and know the value of what you trade otherwise you'll get burned! I lost alot of money on a nice Fender neck and 3 bolt plate to that snake. He didn't do me much justice on a '73 JMP consignment either... should've changed it to Lowball music.

                          [ February 13, 2003, 03:26 PM: Message edited by: charvelguy ]

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                          • #14
                            Re: GC tried to rip me off.......I must look like a dumba$$...

                            Okay, thanks guys. Yeah, I know that retail outlets have to make a big profit and all. I usually never trade equipment...I don't really need anything else, and I could have paid cash for the guitar. But I figured it would be an easy and quick way to get the guitar and not have to pay any cash for it.

                            In this case though, I think they were offering even less than half what they were going to sell it for. The amp is in MINT condition, AND they had another used one just like mine sitting there for $900! That's 3 times what they wanted to give me for mine. Oh well, I should have known better. I'll contact Matt at OSG and see what he can get me one for. I won't make this mistake again. [img]graemlins/nono.gif[/img]
                            Dana &lt;~~~
                            '85 Rhoads Custom
                            '86 SD Str*t
                            '86 Model 4 (5)
                            '87 Model 1
                            '87 Model 6
                            '88 Model 3DR
                            '90 650 XL
                            '94 KE-3
                            '97 DR Amberburst
                            '97 Dinky BOFlames
                            '05 SD Copperhead

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: GC tried to rip me off.......I must look like a dumba$$...

                              charvelguy:

                              Small world, I'm from Mpls too. I don't recall Pete's though. Where were they located?

                              - E.
                              Good Lord! The rod up that man's butt must have a rod up its butt!

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